Two jets seized from air museums dismantled

It was unclear if a third jet seized from a Chino museum two days earlier had been moved or stripped.

The former military aircraft were taken from the Yanks Air Museum and the Planes of Fame Museum after a 17-month investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Defense Criminal Investigation Service and the Naval Criminal Investigation Service...

According to an ICE news release, the government agencies had determined that the three aircraft from the Chino museums, as well as a fourth one in Victorville, could have contained sensitive military equipment that should have been removed before they were transferred to private parties.

In the late 1990s, the aircraft were decommissioned at the Naval Air Station at Point Mugu, then moved to a scrap metal company.